Columbus State will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2013—the college held its very first classes on September 30, 1963—and we are busy collecting stories of our outstanding alumni and former students for a commemorative history book. Read more

This week’s potential for severe weather brings up the reminder that all campus closings or alerts will be communicated on the website’s severe weather page, sent out by text alert to all subscribers of the RAVE system, and emailed to employee email addresses. If you have a question about severe weather closings, check there first!

Last day to sign up for Strategic Plan groups

If you would like to sign up to join the Community Engagement or Workforce Development Strategic Planning work groups, go online here and enter your information. The last day to sign up will be Friday, November 2.

Action Projects to go forward in 2013

Three new Action Projects have been announced for the coming year. Achieving the Dream, Dual Enrollment and the Master Plan, phases III and IV, were selected by the Columbus State Cabinet in collaboration with the Reaffirmation of Accreditation Steering Committee.

Achieving the Dream is a national effort dedicated to helping community college students, particularly low-income students and minority students, stay in school and earn a college degree. Since 2004, the Indianapolis-based non-profit has worked with over 200 colleges in 32 states and the District of Columbia. Team leaders are T.J. Duda, Renee Hampton, Mary Ellen Tancred and Jennifer Anderson.

Dual Enrollment. The college currently supports a small number of dual enrollment offerings in area high schools, but the structure, requirements and costs of the programs vary greatly. This project will chart a redesign of the program infrastructure and position resources accordingly to meet growing demand. Karen Gray leads the team.

The Master Plan, phases III and IV. This project builds on last year's initial groundwork. Phases III and IV will lead to a composite College Master Plan, integrating all of the major planning issues and providing design direction for the future development of Columbus State. The project is co-chaired by Jack Cooley, Jan Rogers and Terri Gehr.

Three annual quality improvement projects are one requirement of the Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP), the college's accreditation process. Columbus State expects to receive a decision on its reaffirmation of accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission in December, 2012.

Talking Transfer

Columbus State alumnus David Kerr (center) talks to students about transferring to Franklin University at the annual Transfer Fair, held October 25 in Nestor Hall. Three dozen colleges and universities sent representatives to showcase the many transfer opportunities offered to our students, and the turnout was very good thanks in part to the beautiful weather last Thursday!

President Harrison to lecture on Leadership Nov. 2 at OSU

President David Harrison will present "Leadership is a Team Sport" on Friday, Nov. 2, at 5:30 p.m. in 200 Campbell Hall, 1787 Neil Avenue, on the Ohio State Columbus campus. Public parking is available after 4 p.m. in the Neil Avenue Parking Garage behind Campbell. The Lena Bailey Lecture is sponsored by Ohio State's College of Education and Human Ecology. An RSVP is requested if you would like to attend.

A class will be offered to employees called Introduction to Hostmanship, in which the foundation and principles of Hostmanship, as well as the application for personal and professional growth will be discussed.

Hostmanship in the art of making people feel welcome, according to Jan Gunnarsson, a hospitality industry veteran from Sweden. Good hostmanship means understanding the art of serving and realizing how much it enriches our lives, according to Gunnarsson.

In his book Hostmanship, Gunnarsson challenges individuals to reframe their views of customer service and leadership. Hostmanship invites us to rethink the customer service experience by seeing ourselves as connected to the customer as host. Register for this class below.

Bookstore to hold Pumpkin Patch sale Wednesday!

Come to the Bookstore on Halloween, Wednesday, October 31, to select a pumpkin from their Pumpkin Patch and win a prize. You will receive a 10-20% discount on your purchase or even a Bookstore gift card!